Gunman Walks Into LAPD Station, Shoots Officer 7 Times

A gunman who opened fire inside a Los Angeles police station, hitting one officer several times, was hospitalized early Tuesday in critical condition after he was wounded in the ensuing gunbattle, authorities said.

Investigators are searching for a motive in the attack and detectives remained at the scene of Monday night's shooting in the lobby at the West Traffic Division station. Authorities say the gunman briefly spoke to two officers before he began shooting at them. Despite being wounded, one of the officers was able to return fire and hit the suspect several times.

The officer sustained non-life threatening injuries, Officer Rosario Herrera said. He was in good condition.

Authorities originally said his bulletproof vest took most of the gunfire, but Herrera said Tuesday that he was not wearing a vest.

Police Chief Charlie Beck told reporters late Monday the officer was alert and chatting with visitors and texting his friends.

"He is in great spirits, a remarkable young man, very, very lucky," Beck said.

The officer's name was not immediately released. The other officer was not struck.

Authorities said the shootout began about 8 p.m. after the gunman entered the lobby and approached two officers who were working at the front desk.

"He engaged in a conversation and then drew a semi-automatic pistol and began shooting," Beck said outside the police station.

Police shut down a busy street near the station immediately after the shooting, clearing a path for ambulances.

It remained closed well into the night as police investigated, at one point calling in a bomb squad to check out the gunman's car, which was parked nearby. It was cleared by the bomb squad and impounded.

Police said they knew of no motive for the shooting, which occurred in the lobby of the station about 7 miles west of downtown.

Several people were gathered in another part of the building for a neighborhood council meeting when the shots rang out. Nobody else was injured.

Daphne Brogdon, one of the council members, told the Los Angeles Times that when the gunfire began, she dove behind a lectern, trying to shield herself.

"I hid, and everyone else just hit the ground," she said. "Everyone was trying to be really quiet, and the shots continued."

Comments

WHY do I have to keep signing in every time I click on a new AOL article and then try to rate a comment or leave a comment? Fix it AOL. I should only have to sign in once. You have possibly the worst developed site on the Net.

HuffPoo is trying to rid itself of posters that lean right, by declining authentication credentials from certain sources. What they don't realize is that in doing so, they are creating an ideological bubble in which leftists can preach and pontificate in front of the other leftists, who all agree and backslap each other.

These comments though! Maybe I should change my preferred profession to nothing. All this time I've put into criminal justice must have been wasted. Btw I'm not law enforcement, military or anything else, just your average civilian BUT I do have a kickass Marine for a husband so I'm going to say it doesn't matter who or what you do for a living. As long as you know how to use a gun and are trying to protect yourself from an idiot, you're petty much golden.

It's NOT illegal to take a gun to places, you Liberal Moron, including Police Stations, .... though they should be fitted with bullet proof glass, all around the receptiona area, and doors released open to the rest of the area, when certain it is safe to do so.

I grew up in Calif. at one time it was a nice place to live, sadly that was a long time ago! these days the govt. is broke thanks to the libs, crime is rampant, illegal allians have virtualy taken over the state, populations have balloned. the sillyiest anti-gun laws ever thought of were invented right there in Ca. by the crazyest Libs around. welfare, poverty and gang life are rampant everywhere and the govt. promotes it. the sky high taxes to support all this have run out most of the good companies and jobs making even more poverty and welfare! and with all of this life for anyone in law enforcement has been made a living hell trying to police the terrible situations there created by all these conditions, its no wonder a few cops go off the reservation every now and again with all this to deal with? put your average guy in a uniform just one day and they would probably not last given all this? and brought to you all by big, liberal govt.!!